Turn the Page
by wickedwriter916
Summary: Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah involving her 1990 Ford Bronco, his 2010 Dodge Challenger and their adventures together.  Requests welcome.
1. How I Go

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**How I Go**

Alice didn't always tell Jasper when everyone disappeared from her visions. With the wolf pack now intertwined within their lives so deeply, there were times, moments when Alice lost all insight into their futures. At first she had panicked, everything had turned black; there was nothing that she could see. Nessie being fuzzy didn't help much, because she and Jake would always be around as long as Bella and Edward stayed in Forks. Jacob came with baggage, mainly an excitable (and impressionable) Seth and a strong-willed (and impersonal) Leah, who, as it seemed, would be hanging around a lot more than Alice had expected when all of her visions faded to black. But there were times when she would catch snippets of their family, with the werewolves not present at the time. Emmett teasing Jasper on the couch about being such a girl, Jasper commenting to Edward that the tie color was to Leah's specifications and Nessie's choice, Jasper frowning as he folded clothes into a box marked ALICE CULLEN. The house in her visions changed slightly, there were more video games beside the consoles, fresh vegetables and meats stocked in the fridge with juice and milk, pantry full of cereal and canned fruit, and the pictures on the wall morphed with the addition of the pack, photos of Leah, Seth, and Jacob joined the family's. Jacob with Nessie, Seth in a headlock by Emmett with Edward laughing, Leah and Jasper in her beat up Bronco, luggage piled up in the back, Jasper and Leah again, slow dancing while Jasper wore the aforementioned tie. And then everything looked black again.

She hadn't told Jasper for weeks, she blocked her thoughts as best she could from Edward until she reached within and looked for her own future. She was almost blinded by the brightness, white sandy beaches, lush green rolling hills, cobblestone and castles, and a dark haired man who smiled at her and was certainly not her husband. Her heart went aflutter at his warm almond eyes, millions of tiny diamonds glistening off his flawless skin.

Suddenly she wasn't so afraid of the future.


	2. One Word

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**One Word**

When Jasper thinks back to his relationship with Alice, there were a million different words that he could have used to describe them.

Now, with Leah curled into his side a blanket thrown over the two of them, the stars high overhead Jasper can think of only one word, at least in this moment that equals and means so much to them. He breathes in, her scent is more of pine, rock salt and the heavens, it's bitter, like her, and perfect. Jasper exhales as Leah nuzzles the underside of his jaw with the top of her head, "finally," he smiles quietly.


	3. Gravity

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**Gravity**

Esme found it odd, when Alice and Jasper first arrived, that Jasper orbited around Alice, like a moon around a planet. She loved them immediately, as mothers tend to do, and made then easily welcome among the established family.

Rosalie and Alice became fast friends, although it took Jasper more time to get used to the family and their diet, he indeed found brothers in Edward and Emmett, a fair and caring father in Carlisle, a loving sister in Rosalie, and a doting mother in Esme. Everyone loved Alice, how could you not?

But even after being accepted wholeheartedly into the Cullen family, Jasper still didn't look completely at ease, relying heavily on Alice.

It was a lot of giving when Esme watches Jasper with Alice. And when she left him, left them all behind, he looked completely lost, and it broke Esme's heart.

But something changed in the dynamics between the pack and the family. And suddenly Leah was around just as much as Seth and Jacob, and Esme immediately noticed the change in Jasper. He was no longer a figure caught in the orbit around the small pixie - he transformed into a being who orbited - and was orbited by - the tall female shifter. Their energies were magnetic towards each other, and Esme was secretly pleased at her adopted son's ability to make the "bitter harpy" happy, mostly because Leah made him happy. And Esme thought that give and take looked good on them.


	4. Inferno

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**Inferno**

Jasper had never found his relationship with Alice wanting. She was everything that he had ever hoped, ever dreamed of, and she loved him. She helped him control himself around humans, reassured him that he wouldn't slip up this time, and she even encouraged him to be happy when their brother found his mate.

Bella was great, for a human; she smelt delicious and was mostly clumsy, and well, human. Alice had told him to be happy for Edward and Bella, and he was, but there was a passion surrounding them that astounded Jasper, and he wondered, if he and Alice were soulmates, why wasn't there that flaming passion between them?


	5. Faded Into You

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**Faded Into You**

The engine of her Bronco idled in the driveway of the Cullen's house. Leah sat behind the wheel, knuckles white over the top of the steering wheel. She clenched her teeth and exhaled. Casting a sideways glance inside as she hoped, for once, that Edward was around. She could really use the mind-reading bloodsucker right now to pass on her message. Several heartbeats passed and there was no movement in the front of the house. Pulling forcefully on the emergency brake she moved her manual into neutral and threw the door open, stalking up to the door. She paced back and forth on the porch for a moment before raising an unsteady hand and knocking lightly on the door.

Within seconds the door was open and Esme stood before her, smiling. Finally, as if the rumble of her engine hadn't signaled her waiting, Leah shifted back and forth on her feet, her eyes focused on her dirty toenails. Esme frowned, opening the door wider and reaching for the shape shifter on her porch. "Leah, what's wrong?"

Leah cringed at everything: Esme's gesture of kindness, reaching for her in comfort, the motherly tone of her voice, the concerned furrowing of her brows, the saccharine smell that wafted into her nostrils. Drawing back slightly she cleared her throat lowly, "Um, I just wanted to know if Jasper was around." Before Leah could even finish saying his name, the vampire in question appeared behind his adoptive mother his own brows knitted together on his forehead.

He took one look at Leah, her submissive manner, the Bronco rumbling lowly in the background and he rested a hand on Esme's shoulder. "I'll be back later," he said offering her a weak twitch of his lips. Stepping past her he raised a hand, gesturing Leah to lead the way.

She turned on the heel of her flip-flop and stutter-stepped to the edge of the porch and bound down the stairs. She stuffed one hand in the pocket of her unzipped hoodie and ran the other through her lengthening hair.

When she looked up, Jasper was holding the driver's side door open for her and she shot him a pointed look that said several things, including 'Stop the chivalrous, bullshit,' and 'Thank you'. She hoisted herself into the seat and buckled in, the door shutting quickly and Jasper entered the passenger side just as fast and was buckling in as she pushed down the e-brake and shot out of the driveway, over-revving the engine in first, sputtering next into second, and catching third too soon.

The road winded down through lush green, the Bronco roared and moaned as Leah downshifted too early and shifted up too soon, Jasper, this time remained silent. The radio was switched off so the only sound was the engine, Leah's heavy breathing and Leah's poor shifting. She released the wheel, steering with her left knee and rubbed under her nose, "Crack a window," she said lowly.

Jasper complied, reaching for the handle.

"Please," she added softly.

Jasper contained the small twitch of his lips and rolled the window about halfway down. His silence meant he wasn't breathing in her scent in the stuffy cabin of her truck.

Several more minutes and complains from the engine around turns and up hills, and Leah swerved dangerously off of the road onto an emergency pull-off section and she shut the car off, leaving the keys in the ignition. She slammed the door shut and strode across the front of the car pulling off her hoodie as she walked. She dropped it near the side of the road and reached for the hem of her shirt.

Jasper slowly rolled up the window as he watched her strip herself of her clothes as she charged blindly into the woods on the side of the road. Once she was out of his line of sight he heard her pause, denim hitting the brush of the forest floor before four paws clawing at the dirt.

Leah relished the silence in her head. She knew Jacob and Seth were still at the house, and if she was lucky, Esme hadn't told them she had stopped by so there would be no reason for them to be in wolf form. She bound up the hillside until she came upon a clearing in the forest, sitting at the edge of a cliff. She could see over the ridge of trees to the flowing water beneath her, and the clouded evening sky while the wind was blowing on the side of her head. She sat back on her hind legs and whimpered, staring out.

That was how Jasper found her, whimpering and whining. "Leah," he began, stepping forward, her discarded clothes balled in his fist.

She threw her head back and howled, a disconnected scream that echoed across the valley below them.

Jasper shifted uncomfortably in the background, still holding her clothes tightly, watching as her body became rigid and her howl broke off.

She turned snapping and growling before standing erect once again as a naked woman, yelling profanities about stupid boys and intrusions.

Jasper cleared his throat and held her clothes out to her, casting his eyes toward the heavens. Once she snatched them away he turned around and folded his arms across his stomach while she continued to snapped and growled more, with sniffles and whimpers splicing the angry noises.

"Can't they see that I just wanted some PRIVACY!" she screeched across the valley. Two howls sounded in the distance.

All was quiet for a moment before Jasper risked a glance over his shoulder.

Leah was facing away from him, now fully clothed, her shoulders shaking; a shaky sense of annoyance covered the surface of her emotions.

"If you wanted to be alone, why did you come for me?" he asked lowly.

She turned her head into the wind, her hair billowing out past her. "You know loss. You understand what it's like to lose someone. Fresh pain," she grimaced. Her voice cracking.

He took a tentative step towards her. "Is this-"

"I lost my dad a year ago. Tonight," she admitted. "And you lost Alice-"

"Two months, fourteen days, and approximately 3 hours ago," he replied frowning deeply.

Her shoulders shook and she wobbled dangerously on her legs. "I just know, that, everyone that I love is going to leave me. My dad is already dead. I'm going to way outlive my mom. Jake imprinted on the Leech Spawn, and I know that eventually Seth is going to imprint and is going to leave me. As much as he promises that he won't, I know it," he voice quaked, but she didn't cry.

"I've lost everyone I've ever known in my human life. After I was turned I never saw them again, and the only thing that is keeping me here now, is my family, but it's hard. I want to go looking for Alice so badly," he admitted and stepped closer to her.

Leah didn't answer just looked forward, a frown pulled on the corners of her mouth. "Please don't," she spoke quietly. "You're kinda the only one in that house that I can actually stand being around, and it's mostly because we're different than them. So please don't leave me, don't leave me like them."

Jasper didn't know what surprised him more: that she hadn't mentioned losing Sam (because he knows how much it affected her), that she identified so strongly with him (because if he's honest with himself, he enjoys that they are practically outcasts among their own families), or that he mattered enough to her that it may break her if he left. He stepped closer and tentatively reached out a hand and gently rested it on her shoulder.

She didn't tense at his touch, just inhaled and released a mighty scream, her pain washed over him like a tidal wave and he stumbled backward, recoiling.

Out of breath she whirled around and launched herself at him, and he caught her in his arms, and cringed at her heat. He held her to his chest as she clung to him, until her sobbing reached his ears, and he bit his lips knowing that if he could he would be sobbing as well.

He wasn't sure how long they stood there commiserating, but he begun to recognize when she was shivering and if he could've sweat he would have been. He led them back to the car he drove them back to the mansion, Leah's eyes focused on nothing but the trees passing, the sound of rain pelted the roof.

"You're welcome to stay tonight," he offered as he casted a sideways glance at her.

She did not look at him, but shook her head. "No, I'll be fine to drive home."

"I want you to stay tonight," he insisted.

She barked a harsh laugh. "And stay at the crypt? No thanks, I can only stand so much of the cotton candy smell," she frowned.

He frowned as well, as he pulled the Bronco up the drive. "It'll be less of a drive for breakfast in the morning," he suggested.

She sat still in quiet contemplation for a moment in front of the house.

"And before you go to sleep we can plot pranks against my siblings and your pack?" he offered now with a perverse grin.

She smirked and turned towards him, "you had me at breakfast," she informed him as she stuck her tongue out.


	6. Vindicated

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**Vindicated**

"So it's settled then," Sam said, "Jake will bring Reneesme because she is his imprint."

Paul and Jared grumbled but quietly complied.

Quil and Embry returned to arm wrestling on Emily's kitchen table.

Jacob visibly relaxed and even allowed a small grin to spread across his face.

Leah cleared her throat. "What about me?"

Emily turned to look at her cousin over the bowl of potatoes she was mashing for dinner.

Quil and Embry stopped and turned to look at the female shifter who was leaning against the wall near the counter.

Paul and Jared directed their stony glares at her.

Jake tense once again while Sam looked at her bewildered. "What?" he asked.

Leaning over, Leah snatched an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter, tossing it back and forth in between her hands. "What. About. Me. Am I not still a plus one?" she said before taking a bite of the Granny Smith.

Sam readjusted in his seat. "You didn't RSVP with a date," he explained.

Everyone's eyes returned to Leah.

"'Cause I didn't have a date then. Now I do," she said smugly.

"But the seating arrangement and the food-" Sam began.

Emily cut him off, "who is it? Do I know him?" he cousin asked excitedly.

"Leah, don't," Jake warned her quietly.

"Jasper," Leah said, unable to keep the happy smile off of her face.

A few things happened all at once: Leah took another pleasant bite of her sour apple, if Sam had been in wolf form, his hackles would have most certainly risen (but he did growl), Paul and Jared stood so rapidly that their chairs knocked to the ground which cause Embry and Quil to quickly raise to their Beta's defense, Emily paled before setting the bowl of mashed potatoes back on the counter, and Jake released a heavy sigh.

"Jared! Paul!" Sam barked. "Outside, now."

Jake nodded to Quil and Embry, who followed the raging duo.

Sam stood now as well, tapping his finger on the table in thought.

"It's not like he'll eat," Leah munched, "and he doesn't actually have to sit anywhere."

"Leah-" Jake groaned quietly.

Sam jabbed his finger into the table forcefully, silencing Jake's protests. "No," he whispered harshly.

"What? Why not?"

"The treaty, Leah! He cannot step foot on the res, and I don't want him anywhere near Emily or any one of our guests!" Sam yelled.

"He doesn't eat humans!" Leah yelled back.

"Leah," Jake began, reaching for her arm.

"He is still a Cold One, regardless."

"And Nessie is a Cold One Spawn!"

"Hey!" Jake called indignantly.

"She's his imprint, there's a difference," Same scoffed reaching to pick up the fallen chairs.

"Well, for all intents and purposes he is my imprint," Leah sneered in return tossing her apple core to the trash in the corner.

All movement ceased for a moment. The sound of the apple banking off of the side of the trash can and the whoosh of the bag as it landed in the bottom brought everyone back.

"But," Sam sputtered, "you can't imprint."

"I know that, but if I could it would be him," Leah pleaded.

"You know we don't have any choice," Sam began but could not continue.

Jake grimaced in mutual pain.

"And I would have never chosen him, but he's my soulmate," she stated staring Sam down.

"Lee-Lee, I'm sorry, but I can't-"

"Yes, Leah," Emily cut him off, "please bring Jasper."

"Emily!" Sam protested, "the treaty-"

"I'm inviting him. He's my cousin's," she paused and cleared her throat, "everything," she said giving her favorite cousin a teary eyed smile. "And I would love to meet the _man_ who makes her most happy." Emily smiled moving to hug Leah.


	7. Bubbly

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**Bubbly**

Jasper never had a car before Leah got her Bronco. He hadn't really needed one, Alice loved to drive and Carlisle didn't mind if he borrowed the Mercedes. But after Alice left, it wasn't that he needed to go anywhere, it was if he wanted to he was more likely to get a ride from the female shifter because he loathed asking to borrow a car from them, and to be honest, none of their cars felt right to him, not that he really liked cars anyway.

Leah's Bronco was sturdy, but she was a horrible driver. Jasper clenched his teeth and bit back saying anything about her inability to drive stick after their first argument about it, but when Emmett pointed out that he was technically the "girl" in his relationships, (yes Alice drove more than he, but he knew that she liked it, and he really hadn't realized that hanging out, and occasionally kissing, Leah so much could be considered a "relationship") he swallowed his pride, and went out and bought a car just to defend his manhood. What he hadn't expected was he would end up really enjoying his 2010 Challenger and to his amusement, the gleeful squeal and subsequent horror when Leah begged to take it for a "spin".

He thought about it for a quick moment, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the mouth before he pulled back and pursed his lips. "No," he answered her flatly.

Leah scoffed and crossed her arms under her breasts glaring at the car.

He leaned over, snaked an arm around her waist and moved to kiss her again and she juked him, his lips pressed into her hair instead, "maybe," his lips twitched.

She had turned her gaze to him and raised one eyebrow expectantly, his other hand reaching to pull her to face him, their hips bumping.

He moved to kiss her again whilst fighting a smile.

She edged her head away.

"Mmm," he leaned his forehead to hers. "Yes," he caved against her lips, his one hand moved up to hold the side of her face. Her arms uncrossed and wrapped around him effectively closing the gap between them. Her hands roamed and felt him through the denim of his pants which caused him to growl against her mouth.

She pulled back with a triumphant grin, euphoria coming off her in waves. She jiggled the keys at his eye level and bolted from his grip.

He growled in irritation now, "You better bring her back in 20 minutes or I'm calling Charlie and telling him you stole it!"

Leah yipped in laughter and bolted into the driver's seat, "Yeah, like Charlie's going to arrest his step-daughter!" she called out and she over-revved the engine and gunned it to the highway.

Jasper cringed and grimaced as he watched his girl drive off with his new baby, and for some reason, he was more concerned that she might hurt herself if she crashed the car than he was about her grinding the gears.


	8. Carry On My Wayward Son

Turn the Page a series of drabbles about Jasper and Leah. I do not own the Twilight Saga.

**Carry On My Wayward Son**

Leah had the oddest taste in music. The money that she saved on buying her Bronco she put away for emergency repairs. Meaning: she used an old portable CD player and a cassette tape adapter to get anything other than Lite FM and Country Classics (which Jasper wasn't always opposed to), but she had about fifty brightly colored CDs in the middle console of the Bronco, each with a random title (Tablet, Brick, Potato), and yet Leah could rarely tell Jasper what was actually on each CD. "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole!" She yipped happily once.

Jasper looked at her sideways, his trademark smirk gracing his lips. "You watch Supernatural?"

"Yes, I love it-it-it's a guilty pleasure," she blushed and turned her concentration back to the road.

"Right," Jasper snorted and rifled through a handful of CDs.

Leah looked at him crossly, "Besides, if Sam and Dean did exist, they'd kill you guys anyway, they wouldn't kill Spirit Walkers," she said reaching to snatch the CDs from his grip.

He moved them out of her reach and laughed, "If I recall, they didn't kill vampires who don't eat humans, and Dean has a special hatred of shifters," he twitched an excited eyebrow in her direction.

Leah pursed her lips, "Well, I shift into a wolf, not other humans, nor do I kill humans for fun, or survival, I protect them," she gloated.

"As do I," Jasper defended.

Leah remained quiet for a few moments. "So, it's a good thing that Sam and Dean aren't real then, huh?"

"I guess so," Jasper said distractedly as he shuffled through the CDs making faces at their names (Doorknob, Ankle, Cold).

"Sucks," Leah sighed, "I'd so bone Sam," she smirked.

This got Jasper's attention, "Why, you seem more like a Dean-type of girl to me though, why Sam?" he asked annoyed that they subject of her "boning" fictional monster hunters was their topic of conversation.

"It's the hair," she hedged, a smile pulling tightly across her lips before it broke out into a toothy grin, and she looked at him beside her, and winked.


	9. Her

(I've been sitting on this for months, the original that I had written got lost on a flash drive mishap. Sorry for the delay, I'll work on more writing over break, here are two new drabbles for you all. Enjoy!)

It happened one day while Jasper was hunting. He was joined by Carlisle and Emmett, while Rosalie and Esme had gone to Seattle for the day to do some shopping. Bella was reading to Nessie back at their cottage, and Edward stayed back at the house, helping Alice escape.

When Jasper returned he could immediately feel the guilt radiating off of his brother, who looked grim and withdrawn, idly playing a tune on the piano. Edward had looked up at him, pain and sympathy flowing off of him and Jasper froze. Instantly he knew what had happened.

He dropped to his knees on the spot, Edward and Emmett rushed forward to grab him, dragged him over to the couch. Carlisle was already on the phone whispering quickly to Esme, informing her and Rosalie of Alice's decision.

Engines rumbled in the driveway before extinguishing, the crunching sound of rusty doors slammed before three yapping shape shifters made their way up to the Cullen's porch. Inside the door Jake stopped, looking frantically to Edward after he saw Carlisle snap his phone shut stiffly.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked not moving any further inside.

Edward looked from his brother to the wolves at the door. He swallowed instinctively, "Alice-"

"She's gone," Jasper choked from between his brothers.

Leah pushed Jake aside and strode inside, "what?" she glared and looked around at the lack of female Cullen's present before Bella rushed through the back and into the living room, Nessie clutched to her chest.

"What do you mean Alice is gone?" Bella shrieked.

Jasper stared unseeing at the floor, his eyes widened and empty, Emmett held tightly to his shoulder still, Edward pushed up from the couch to console his hysterical wife and wailing daughter. Jake rushed to join him.

Seth opened and closed his mouth, resembling a goldfish, eyes wide in shock.

Leah looked around at them all, Jasper was felt everything that they were, and his pain at the loss of his wife was multiplied by the present company. "Do we know who did this?" Leah hissed to Carlisle.

"She saw something," Edward said quietly, as he looked away from his wife for a moment, Bella still clutched to his arms, Nessie sobbed into Jake's neck. His gaze cast downward he nodded towards Leah, "she saw herself, happier, elsewhere," he bit enigmatically.

A flare of righteous anger ignited in Leah and she exhaled harshly through her nostrils. She moved swiftly so that she stood in front of Jasper and grabbed his free hand and yanked on his marble form until he looked up at her. A flicker of recognition rose in his eyes.

"Let's go," she growled when she reached for his wrist instead.

"Hey there, Wolf-girl, he just lost his wife, I don't know what you have-"

"Shut it, you do realize that you're all overloading him, right? He's dealing with, with, his own issues and he has to be bombarded by all of your feelings on the matter as well! I don't think so, let's go," she barked the order.

Jasper rose mechanically and followed Leah as she attempted to drag him outside. On the porch she dropped her hold on him and stalked towards her car.

Before Leah could reach her side of the Bronco, Jasper was there, eyes cast down as he held the door open for her. Leah stopped at the front of her car and blinked, "what the fuck are you doing?"

Jasper looked to her then back to the door in his hand, "Opening your door?" he questioned, his voice sounded distant, like the look in his eyes.

Leah arched an eyebrow and clutched her keys tighter in her hand. "You're not driving my car," she growled.

He looked at her exasperated "Holding it open for you."

Leah fixed him with a strange glare and proceeded to stomp over to her side and climbed in past Jasper. She buckled as he shut her door and got in through the passenger side door with a pained look more prominent on his features. Leah jammed her key in the ignition, pumped her clutch and brakes as she glared ahead, "Why did you do that?" she snapped.

Silence was her answer.

They drove for several minutes before Jasper finally spoke again, "Where are we going?"

"Well," Leah began. "We're going to go find your wife," she answered. "I figured Mama-vamp and your not-twin-sister are scouring Seattle since they're already there. And we'll try to track her down this way," Leah explained.

Jasper nodded numbly. A minute or two passed. "She drives a Porsche, you can't catch her in this truck," he said eloquently.

Leah sighed and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "I get that," she said condescendingly to Jasper as if he were a petulant child. "We're going to beg Charlie to put out an APB on her car and on her, saying that she ran away, everyone thinks she's my age anyway-"

"If Alice doesn't want to be found we won't be able to find her," Jasper stated.

Anger exploded from Leah and she slammed her foot on the brake, forgetting the clutch, as the car screeched to a halt and the engine sputtered and jumped under them until it stalled out, her hand met the steering wheel violently as she let out a loud curse. She shook as she aggressively tried to restart the car, but icy fingers delayed her movement. "What?" she screamed as she looked over to a stoic vampire in her passenger seat.

Jasper opened his mouth to speak but then closed it, a tic in his clenched jaw attracted Leah's attention. "You removed me from my home because I was drowning in my family's emotions, and now you're scorching me with your anger," he said tersely.

Leah paled, "Oh, shit. Sorry," she apologized quickly, and then breathed in slowly, forced herself to clear her head and reel in her anger, protect the Empath from her rage as she worked to let it dissipate easily. After a few silent prayers and a crack of her neck, she noticed Jasper breathing calmly in sync with her. She focused on their joint breaths, in through the nose, raising the soft pallet, the air cycling down through her throat, gathering in the bottom of her lungs and swelling to the top; a controlled exhale through the mouth the air pressing out slowly, stomach muscles contracting. Leah felt an overwhelming sense of peace and –gratitude? She opened her eyes and realized that Jasper was looking at her now, an easy expression on his face. "Why don't you want us to find Alice?" Leah asked.

Jasper cringed, "If she left, she had a reason; and if she left without telling me, or saying," he gulped unnecessarily, "goodbye, then I should respect that."

Leah nodded, numb, and pushed against Jasper's influence over her emotions.

"Why did you help me? Why do you think I need to find Alice?" Jasper asked, resisted the desire to send calm emotions at Leah.

Leah shrugged, "Same shoes," she mumbled, a pang of pain escaped her barrier. "Just thought you deserved an explanation from the horse's mouth."

Jasper nodded now. "That's – very unselfish Leah, thank you."

Leah coughed. "No, it's not, it's very selfish. I figured – at first – that she was killed which would equal another suicide mission and I'm kinda starting to enjoy life again; but when my favorite mind-raping leech said she split, well, I figured that'd just be the downfall of the house of cards. Domino effect, n'shit, which would lead to Jake leaving and forcing us to go back to Sam," Leah finished her speech picking at a hangnail while Jasper felt the ghost of that pain from earlier flash through, more dull though, almost diminished, if only the memory of the pain. "So don't thank me, because this is really for me," she frowned, her hand reached to turn the engine over again, but Jasper's hand stopped her again. She looked up shocked, an exclamation stuck behind her teeth.

Jasper looked at her directly in her dark chocolate eyes, which caused Leah to repress the chills that shot up her spine. "Thank you," he said again, as he rubbed his icy thumb over the back of her feverish skin, encased in his cold, stone grip.


	10. Driving Lesson

A door slammed open against the wall, footsteps creaked over old wooden floorboards, the same door slammed shut loudly back into its frame. Silence. The thud of a body crashed against the tightly shut door. A heavy sigh sounded from the body as the scrapes of bare feet against the wood floor shuffled across the house in a daze. 

Leah made her way to the kitchen on auto-pilot. Opening up the door, looking for anything before the tray of ice cubes in the freezer caught her attention. She quickly snatched one up and ran it across her super heated flesh as she recalled the last few hours in a heady daze.

It had been obvious now, when she looked back on it. Jasper had insisted that he teach her the "proper" way to drive a stick shift. She had scoffed and replied that she knew how to drive just fine. It was Rosalie's passing remark about how they've already rebuilt her transmission twice in the last month while she was out on patrol that had her fuming. Jasper looked between her and Rose, both sheepish and livid.

Leah had acquiesced only because she was getting tired of the bitching (and she didn't know how much it was going to cost her to pay back the leeches for fixing her car) and followed Jasper while slightly fuming out to his Challenger, which he sped them away down the road in.

He took her to the Forks High School parking lot, both because it was moderately close and well-lit, but also flat with the occasional hill. They spent a good hour with Leah grumbling as Jasper instructed her on how to smoothly shift, and then practiced on the hills, which only frustrated Leah more as they drifted back farther and farther before she stalled out. Jasper then gave her this alternative:

"Listen, you can do this. Just a few more times and then we can get out of here and go, hang out," he finished lamely.

Leah gave him a cross look from out of the corner of her eye, but nodded, focusing once again on the car.

Twenty minutes later, Jasper was back behind the wheel and driving them across town.

"So," Leah said finally breaking the heavy silence. "Where did you have in mind to hang out? I thought we'd just be going back to the house?"

Jasper shifted uncomfortably, "Sorry, I was just going on cruise control -I thought you'd want to get away from everyone else for a bit, and just talk. It's been a while since we've gotten to just do that."

"Yeah," Leah snorted in laughter, "without Ed-weird throwing stern glances and Em speaking only in innuendos."

"It's worse when you're not there," Jasper laughed in agreement.

He finally pulled off to the side of the road, in an unlit parking lot, just on the edge of the woods and turned off the car. He moved his arm around so that his hand rested on the back of Leah's headrest.

Her hand moved across the gear shift to rest on his thigh.

Jasper shot her a heated look and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Leah laughed out loud, "Ball's in your court, Cowboy."

Jasper reached over with his other hand and moved Leah's face towards his own, kissing her unexpectedly. He pulled back but was met once again as her lips caught his own.

It was fast and dirty in the front seat, where Jasper had reached across Leah and reclined the seat quickly. He fished a condom out of the glove box as she worked on getting him out of his jeans. When they came it was with mutual grunts and sighs, both heaving for oxygen and Leah's legs shaking where they were wrapped around Jasper's waist.

He moved back to the driver's seat, both dressing with haste, and chuckling at the suddenness of it all. She sniffed his shirt and handed it back to him, searching blindly for hers before discovering it under the backseat. They rolled down the windows and pulled out of the parking lot.

"I'm sorry about that," Jasper apologized. "It was better for me. Next time we're doing that in a house." Outside, they parted with a long hug - longer than what either was used to, and Leah jumped into her car, avoiding the peeping glances that came out from the front window of the Cullen house and drove smoothly back to her mother's place.

That's where she was now. Alone, her face once again flushed and her heart racing anew. Her leg twitched at the memory. And against her better judgment, she moved over to the phone. She really shouldn't tempt fate, but she couldn't find the care to check herself. "Hey Jasper," she said to his voice which drifted through after the third ring, "nobody's at my house."


End file.
